The Frog Princess
by Boneless Wingnut
Summary: A young Aloysius Animo experiences his first unreciprocated crush.


"I wager that I can catch more frogs than you down at the pond, Roger."

"No way! I'm the undisputed master of frog catching! No NERD will ever out catch me at FROGS!"

Aloysius Animo plugged his finger in his ears. "Do you always have to be so loud, you imbecile?"

"I CAN BE AS LOUD AS I WANT!" Roger stomped his feet as he walked.

"It's okay, Aloysius. He's young," said Lance. "One day he'll learn to behave in a more mature manner." He attempted to place his hand on Aloysius' shoulder.

"Don't touch me! You'll get your pathetic sappiness all over me," he grumbled before he walked faster.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Then again, sometimes even the aged act immature."

The two older boys and the younger wandered the woods until they came to the frog pond.

"Hey! Someone else is at the pond!" Roger said while he pointed.

"Well, it is a public place," Lance noted.

The three boys arrived at the pond's edge and saw another child wading to the knees in the water. It was a girl wearing a green skirt and blouse. She had black hair tied in pigtails adorned with orange bows.

Roger gasped and recoiled. "Eeeewwwwwwww! IT'S THE FROG PRINCESS!" He ran and hid behind Lance. "Don't go near her! She'll give you WARTS!"

Lance frowned. "That's an awful thing to say, Roger."

The 'Frog Princess' turned around and noticed the boys. She smiled. Her eyes were bright green behind thick glasses. She had many freckles on her plump cheeks. In her hands was a large bullfrog. She smiled, revealing missing front teeth. When she spoke, she sprayed spit and had a distinct lisp.

"Oh, hi! It's nice to see some other people who want to collect frogs! I love frogs."

She walked up to the group. Roger screamed and ran behind a tree. Aloysius was more interested in the bullfrog than the girl. Lance was the only one who reached out his hand to shake.

"Hello. I'm Lance Kelly," he said.

"My name is Melissa Webster. Pleased to meet you," Melissa said while shaking his hand enthusiastically. The bullfrog remained in her other hand.

"Behind the tree is my friend, Roger. He's shy," Lance said.

"I AM NOT SHY!" Roger yelled from behind the tree. "I don't want to get infected by GIRL WARTS!"

"This is," Lance began before Aloysius shoved him out of the way.

"I can introduce myself." He held a hand to his chest. "I am Aloysius Animo. And I notice you're holding Rana catesbeiana. A very large specimen."

Melissa smiled at him while fluttering her eye lashes. "Oh! You certainly know your species." She focused on his long, dark brown hair which framed his face nicely. She got lost in his amber eyes. "Do you come here often?"

"Occasionally," Aloysius said. He noticed Lance smirking and raised his eyebrow.

"We were going to have a frog catching contest. But we didn't expect anyone else to be here," said Lance.

"I've been here all morning. This is the only frog I found," said Melissa. "They aren't very active today."

"THEN LET'S LEAVE!" Roger yelled. "I'M BORED!"

Aloysius focused on the bullfrog until it jumped out of Melissa's hands and flew at him. He gasped and held out his hands instinctively. The bullfrog landed in his arms.

"I guess it likes you best!" Melissa mused. She laughed and snorted.

"Gee, I guess that means that Aloysius is today's winner for catching frogs," said Lance as he laughed.

Melissa came to Aloysius' side and touched his arm. "Intelligent, and attracts frogs? I'm so glad I met you, Mr. Animo."

Aloysius frowned with growing discomfort as Melissa intruded on his personal space. He held out the bullfrog and handed it back to her. "Here, you can keep it! I think I've had enough frog catching for today. I have to go and do something else now." He turned and departed past the tree where Roger was hiding.

"TOLD YOU!" Roger yelled.

Lance laughed again.

Melissa waved goodbye to her new crush. "Bye, Aloysius!" she called dreamily.

The sun went farther down as Lance joined Roger and Aloysius on their walk home.

"I think Melissa has developed a significant crush on you, Aloysius," said Lance.

"GROSS!" Roger yelled before laughing. "You and the Frog Princess will have a lot of tadpoles in the future." He laughed harder.

Aloysius shuddered. "I can't stand romance!" he groaned. He started to run to his house.

"Where are you going so fast, Aloysius? It's not time to go home for dinner yet," Lance called. "We can play at least two games of catch before the sun sets."

"No way! I've got to study up on how to deter a female pursuer!" he yelled.

The End


End file.
